Ben Walker
Department Director
c.1930 Majestic 500cc & Bernardet Sidecar Frame no. 402617 Engine no. 402617
Estimate: €90,000 - €120,000
Lot 208
c.1930 Majestic 500cc & Bernardet Sidecar
Frame no. 402617 Engine no. 402617
c.1930 Majestic 500cc & Bernardet Sidecar
Frame no. 402617
Engine no. 402617
Frame no. 402617
Engine no. 402617
The Majestic was the brainchild of Georges Roy, a French engineer who in the early 1920s began experimenting with alternatives to the traditional tubular frame for motorcycles. Roy considered the tubular frame unsuitable for a motorcycle because of its tendency to flex and susceptibility to breakage caused by vibration. His solution was a sheet steel 'monocoque' chassis that overcame these drawbacks while at the same time providing the drive train, if not the rider, with a measure of weather protection. The result was a streamlined torpedo embodying the Art Deco aesthetic of the day, its gaping air intake and louvered sides making the Majestic look somewhat like a two-wheeled basking shark.
Roy applied for a patent for his 'New Motorcycle' in December 1926. Roy's New Motorcycle was not a commercial success but that did not deter him from developing the design still further in the form of the 'Majestic'. Introduced at the 1929 Paris Show, where it generated plenty of interest, the Majestic featured hub-centre steering and Morgan-style sliding pillar front suspension. The production versions were powered by single-cylinder Chaise overhead-valve engines, while later in 1929 a prototype was shown fitted with a four-cylinder Cleveland engine. Apart from the engine, gearbox and ancillaries such as lights, seats, controls, etc, the entire motorcycle was built in-house, even down to the special hubs. Interviewed by 'Moto-Revue' in the early 1970s, Roy revealed that he had been inspired by the American Ner-a-Car, another hub-centre steered design.
Motorcycles were merely a diversion for Roy, whose main business was the knitting industry, and in 1930 he sold the Majestic production rights to Messrs Delachanal, makers of Dollar motorcycles. According to Roy, the Majestic was produced in limited numbers between 1930 and 1933. Conceived as a motorcycling Grande Routière, the Majestic, like many similar attempts before and since, failed to capture the imagination of a conservative public despite (or perhaps because of) its brilliance and originality. It is estimated that approximately ten examples have survived, one of which was featured in the Guggenheim Museum's 'The Art of the Motorcycle' exhibition in 1998/1999.
This particular Majestic is powered by a 500cc Chaise overhead-valve engine. Beautifully restored during 2012/2013, the machine is attached to a very stylish Bernardet sidecar and is finished in French Racing Blue. It was previously exhibited at the Frontalini Sidecar Museum in Cingoli, Italy and the Grom Motorcycle Museum in Vransko, Slovenia, and is the only example known with a sidecar attached (see copy on file of 'Legend Bike' magazine, November 2004 edition). Noteworthy features include an aluminium dashboard containing a matching O.S. clock and speedometer, and a Jaeger ammeter. Rare and desirable, this wonderful Majestic is offered with French Carte Grise and a full photographic record of the restoration.
Roy applied for a patent for his 'New Motorcycle' in December 1926. Roy's New Motorcycle was not a commercial success but that did not deter him from developing the design still further in the form of the 'Majestic'. Introduced at the 1929 Paris Show, where it generated plenty of interest, the Majestic featured hub-centre steering and Morgan-style sliding pillar front suspension. The production versions were powered by single-cylinder Chaise overhead-valve engines, while later in 1929 a prototype was shown fitted with a four-cylinder Cleveland engine. Apart from the engine, gearbox and ancillaries such as lights, seats, controls, etc, the entire motorcycle was built in-house, even down to the special hubs. Interviewed by 'Moto-Revue' in the early 1970s, Roy revealed that he had been inspired by the American Ner-a-Car, another hub-centre steered design.
Motorcycles were merely a diversion for Roy, whose main business was the knitting industry, and in 1930 he sold the Majestic production rights to Messrs Delachanal, makers of Dollar motorcycles. According to Roy, the Majestic was produced in limited numbers between 1930 and 1933. Conceived as a motorcycling Grande Routière, the Majestic, like many similar attempts before and since, failed to capture the imagination of a conservative public despite (or perhaps because of) its brilliance and originality. It is estimated that approximately ten examples have survived, one of which was featured in the Guggenheim Museum's 'The Art of the Motorcycle' exhibition in 1998/1999.
This particular Majestic is powered by a 500cc Chaise overhead-valve engine. Beautifully restored during 2012/2013, the machine is attached to a very stylish Bernardet sidecar and is finished in French Racing Blue. It was previously exhibited at the Frontalini Sidecar Museum in Cingoli, Italy and the Grom Motorcycle Museum in Vransko, Slovenia, and is the only example known with a sidecar attached (see copy on file of 'Legend Bike' magazine, November 2004 edition). Noteworthy features include an aluminium dashboard containing a matching O.S. clock and speedometer, and a Jaeger ammeter. Rare and desirable, this wonderful Majestic is offered with French Carte Grise and a full photographic record of the restoration.
Footnotes
Majestic 500 cm3 et sidecar Bernardet c.1930
Cadre n°402617
Moteur n°402617
La Majestic fut une création de Georges Roy, ingénieur français qui, au début des années 1920, commença à étudier des solutions alternatives au cadre tubulaire des motocyclettes. Roy estimait inadapté le cadre en tube sujet à des flexions et à des ruptures dues aux vibrations. Sa solution prit d'abord la forme d'une structure « monocoque » en tôle d'acier qui devait éliminer ces défauts tout en procurant en même temps à la mécanique, sinon au pilote une certaine protection contre les intempéries. Il en résulta finalement une coque emboutie profilée comme une torpille et marquée par le style art déco de l'époque avec des flancs percés d'ouïes qui donnèrent à la Majestic une allure de squale sur deux roues.
Roy fit d'abord breveter en décembre 1926 la « New Motorcycle ».
Cette machine ne rencontra pas un grand succès commercial, mais Roy en poursuivit le développement sous la forme de la « Majestic ». Lancée au salon de Paris 1929, où elle suscita beaucoup d'intérêt, la Majestic se distinguait par sa direction à moyeu à pivot central et une suspension avant à éléments télescopiques dans le style des Morgan. Les machines de production étaient équipées d'un moteur monocylindre Chaise à soupapes en tête, mais plus tard en 1929, un prototype fut exposé avec un moteur Cleveland à quatre cylindres. À l'exception du moteur, de la boîte et des équipements tels que les éclairages, les selles, les commandes, etc, les motos étaient totalement assemblées par l'usine Roy y compris les moyeux spéciaux. Interviewé par « Moto-Revue » au début des années 1970, Roy révéla qu'il avait été inspiré par la Ner-a-Car américaine, autre modèle à moyeu à pivot central.
Les motos ne furent qu'une activité secondaire pour Georges Roy dont l'activité principale concernait les machines à tricoter. En 1930 il vendit les droits de production de la Majestic aux Ets Delachenal, fabricants des motos Dollar. Selon Roy, la Majestic fut produite en nombre limité entre 1930 et 1933. Conçue comme une Grande Routière, la Majestic comme maintes autres tentatives de ce genre avant et après elle, ne séduisit pas le grand public assez conservateur malgré (ou à cause de) de son originalité et de l'intelligence de sa conception. On estime qu'une dizaine d'exemplaires ont survécu dont un figura dans l'exposition « The Art of the Motorcycle » du musée Guggenheim en 1998-1999.
Cette Majestic est équipée d'un moteur Chaise 500 cm3 à soupapes en tête. Superbement restaurée en 2012-2013, la machine est attelée à un très élégant side-car Bernardet et peinte en bleu de France. Elle a été précédemment exposée au Frontalini Sidecar Museum de Cingoli (Italie) et au Grom Motorcycle Museum de Vransko (Slovénie), seul exemplaire connu avec un side-car (voir dans le dossier le numéro du magazine « Legend Bike » de novembre 2004). On notera particulièrement la planche de bord en aluminium contenant une montre et un compteur de vitesse O.S. assortis et un ampèremètre Jaeger. Rare et désirable, cette magnifique Majestic est accompagnée de sa carte grise française et d'un dossier de photos de sa restauration.
Saleroom notices
The Frame Number is 897.
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